


Dream On

by 50shadesofsubtext



Series: Dream on!verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 10, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Blow Jobs, Bottom Dean, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mark of Cain, Prostate Massage, Smut, Top Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-08 18:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7768513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50shadesofsubtext/pseuds/50shadesofsubtext
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean jolted upright in bed drenched in sweat. Fucking Djinn. He looked around the room and saw the picture of his mom under his lamp, guns and knives adorning the wall, and took a breath- he was home. He cautiously slipped out of the covers, grabbed a knife, and creaked the door open. Peering down the hall, he took one silent step out, then another. He didn’t know if this djinn granted wishes or fed on fear, so he needed to get a feel for this world, and he would be ready for whatever happened.</p><p>When Dean is trapped in a djinn dream, he tries to find a way out, but soon questions if that is something he really wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Jungle

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at fanfic, and when I started writing, this came flowing out. The title is named after Aerosmith's "Dream On." All of my work is unbetaed, so constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is named for the song by Guns N' Roses

Dean jolted upright in bed drenched in sweat. Fucking djinn. He looked around the room and saw the picture of his mom under his lamp, guns and knives adorning the wall, and took a breath- he was home. He cautiously slipped out of the covers, grabbed a knife, and creaked the door open. Peering down the hall, he took one silent step out, then another. He didn’t know if this djinn granted wishes or fed on fear, so he needed to get a feel for this world, and he would be ready for whatever happened.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Sam and Cas talking. He heard a whispered, “The mark,” before Sam caught sight of him and stopped. It looked like they had been cleaning up dinner. Dean dropped the knife in his back pocket, and his hand instinctively reached for his arm. Cas turned and walked to him, grabbing his shoulder. Looking Dean square in the eye, he said “You should be resting.”

“ Not tired,” he snorted back.

Sam gave them bitch face number three as he slipped past them, escaping into the hall.

“Dean, you just killed Cain. Just because the first blade is hidden does not mean you are any closer to winning the war against the mark.”

“And you actually think rest is going to help?”

Cas leaned closer before whispering, “You know I just want to help you.” As he went to follow Sam out the door, he gave Dean a peck on the cheek. The “I love you” that followed almost went past Dean in his shock, and he froze as he lost sight of Cas down the hallway.

Dean’s head swirled. Luckily it wasn’t a nightmare, but this wasn’t a wish of his either. A wish would be to have his family back, to be out of the life, to have the mark gone.

Not Cas.

What kind of djinn would put him in a world where he and his best friend were together? He had to figure out what kind of world this was before he could find a way out. He tore out of the kitchen and back to his room, looking for hints of what was different about this world.

Next to the picture of his mom was a picture of Sam, Cas, and him. He and Cas had an arm around each other’s shoulders, and Sam stood to Cas’ other side taking a selfie of the three of them. They all looked happy.

He found a stack of pictures next, tucked in a notepad. Between a picture of him and Sam with Bobby and a picture of his parents was a picture of him kissing Cas. He imagined Sam had taken the picture of them. They were standing in front of baby, soaking wet and covered in soap suds. He could see the smile on their faces behind the kiss. He felt a longing in his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time. He pushed it aside as the door opened.

Cas strutted inside, took off his trench-coat and kicked his shoes of under the bed as he plopped down on top. He stretched across the bed and glanced up at Dean with the stack of pictures in his hand. 

Dean mentally kicked himself, he shouldn’t feel surprised they shared a room, but he was. He shouldn’t like the way Cas looked without the trench coat on, but he did.

Cas asked, “What are you looking at?” Dean held up the picture wordlessly and Cas smiled, “You got me so wet.”

Dean caught the double meaning, but decided not to comment on it. “How long ago was that now,” he asked, trying to sound casual.

Cas thinks, “That must have been after I pulled Sam back from Hell.”

Dean froze again, thinking. That must have been during the year he spent with Lisa. Did he spend that year with Cas in this dream? He tried to be nonchalant when he asked, “we have been together a long time, huh?”

Cas looked reminiscent when he smiled and nodded. “I knew from the moment I found you in Hell that you were different. Even after giving in to Alastair, you shone so bright. You always were beautiful.”

Dean blushed and before he could stop himself he said, “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Cas patted the bed next to him. Dean looked at Cas’ hand resting on the mattress and realized Cas might want to do more than just talk. He looked at his best friend and knew he was not ready for that. He hoped he could keep Cas talking. He sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “How did we end up here?”

Cas sat up and took off his black jacket striping to his white shirt. He loosened the tie around his neck and leaned around Dean’s back, arms resting on one shoulder, mouth alarmingly close to his ear. Cas growled, “There are two things that I know for certain, one: Bert and Ernie are gay. Two: you are not going to die a virgin. Not on my watch.”

Dean laughed, remembering the night he tried to get Cas laid by some random hooker.

Cas said, “You should have just said you wanted me then instead of trying to get me to sleep with some poor girl with daddy issues.”

Dean was acutely aware of Cas’ lips nearly brushing his ear as he spoke. He needed to diffuse the situation before things started. He leaned forward, out of their closeness and asked, “You have any more stories?”

“Well, we have been through a lot Dean. Remember when Zachariah took you to the future? When I got to you, you told me ‘Don’t ever change.’ That was the first moment I realized that you might feel the same way about me as I felt about you.”

Dean smiled remembering, Cas had been an orgy-loving, drugged out hippy in the future. Then his Cas saved him from Zachariah, and he was the lovable, goofy, socially awkward guy he had always been. Cas moved on to another memory, Gabriel putting them in different TV shows. 

They were all the same memories he had until they reached the night before Ellen and Jo died. That was when his djinn world started to sound different than his real world. Instead of asking Jo about her last night on Earth, he had asked Cas again, and this time it worked. And they had kissed. And they had done more than kiss. The other stories he told were familiar, but different then his world. They managed to stop Michael and Lucifer, and then Cas went down and brought Sam back. The three of them said goodbye to hunting for a while, but the war in heaven started. This time, Cas fully trusted him and Sam, and they easily defeated Rafael. There was no Leviathan, no trip to Purgatory, no Benny, no tablets, no Kevin. Cas had never lost his grace, heaven was never sealed. Sam never went through the trials, never heard of Gadreel. They had a few years of classic monster hunts and a new case every week or two, but they could take breaks when they wanted and Bobby could pass any case to a different hunter.

And then, Henry had shown up, and brought Abaddon with him. Crowley still found Cain, Dean still had the mark, and they were still in the same mess as before.

What was the point of this dream?

Dean got up and went to the bathroom. His head spun with possible theories about the djinn and how to get out of the dream. Also, part of him thought that if he took long enough, Cas could be asleep when he got back. Then he remembered that this Cas is still 100% angel and has his grace… he won’t sleep. He inched the door to his room open and saw Cas on one side of the bed shirtless, covered in blankets and reading a book. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat as he walked to the other side of the bed, slipping out of his shirt and down to his boxers. He got in bed and Cas curled up to his side. Dean turned off the lamp and told Cas, “Good night.”

If Cas felt disappointed in the lack of other activities tonight, he hid it when he said “good night” back and gave him another peck on the cheek. He tried to hide the discomfort as Cas’ arm snaked around his chest. He needed to follow the djinn’s plan. Slowly, he realized it had been a long time since he fell asleep with someone. They had talked for hours, and it had felt nice to have someone to hash things out with. He forgot how nice it could be to have someone next to him, and before he knew it, he acclimated to the rhythm of Cas’ breath on his neck and heartbeat on his back. Dean fell asleep lured into a safe, comfortable space he hadn't been in for years.


	2. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean decides to play the djinn dream out and see what happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is named for the song by Bachman Turner Overdrive.

Dean woke up to laughter down the hallway. He looked around the room and saw that Cas must have left at some point during the night. He took a minute to compose himself while he was alone to think about what to do. The fastest way out of the dream would be to find the djinn, and that meant following the plan laid out for him. He sighed and thought about what would happen if Cas tried kissing him. He would have to go along with it, play it up for the djinn. He wondered if he could pull this off, and thought about his gay thing with Aaron from the Jewish Initiative, and his man-crush on Dr. Sexy, and remembered he had once talked Charlie through how to flirt with a guy. This might just work.

He had debated whether he should tell someone he was in a dream, thinking that maybe they could help him find the djinn, but remembered the dream world where his mom was alive. When he told Sam what he was trying to do, everyone tried to stop him. He didn’t want anyone working against him this time. 

He shrugged on a t-shirt and his robe and stopped in the restroom before following the laughter. He walked into the library and saw Sam and Cas talking. He stopped when he saw a long blond hair. Claire sat across from the boys in her pajamas holding a cup of tea. 

She looked up at Dean and joked, “Morning sleepyhead.”

“Claire.” He stopped himself before he asked why she was there. He thought back to the night before and realized Cas mentioned her a couple times. He didn’t know she was living with them though. 

Sam looked over and told him, “There’s coffee in the kitchen.”

Coffee, thank God. He turned and went to grab a cup, and felt Cas follow behind him. As he reached the table with the coffee pot, Cas slid up behind him, arms wrapped around Dean’s stomach and gripped him tight. He kissed the back of Dean’s neck. “Good morning.”

He thought about playing the part as he poured his cup, then turned around into Cas’ embrace. “Good morning to you too.” And he let Cas kiss him. 

He was expecting the kiss to be awkward, but Cas knew him well. Before Dean knew what was happening, Cas’ tongue licked his lips open, and he actually saw stars. He thought those were a figure of speech. He leaned back after a minute and broke the kiss to catch his breath. He opened the eyes he didn’t know he had closed, and stared into the blue eyes before him. The taste of coffee from Cas’ soft lips had him buzzing. What the fuck was that? 

He hadn’t wanted that. Cas was his best friend. People weren't supposed to like it when their best friends kissed them, and he wouldn’t mind kissing Cas again to prove his point. As he moved forward to experiment, Cas leaned in with a quick peck to his lips and turned away, down the hall. 

Dean followed him back to the library. Claire was telling Sam a story about a boy in her trig class that totally had a crush on her and kept flirting with her and was for sure going to ask her out for her 18th birthday. Claire was obviously not the same girl who had stole for Randy, lived in and out of foster and group homes, and nearly got Dean killed. He made a mental note to inconspicuously figure out what had changed there. 

Sam looked at Dean and asked, “You okay?”

He quickly pulled his face together and said, “Yeah, just wondering how you would kill me if I shaved your head tonight.”

Cas and Claire laughed, but fell silent and the glare Sam gave him. 

“Not funny.”

“Yes it is.” Dean gave Sam his widest smile and saw Cas and Claire with matching smirks on their faces. Well, that was just adorable.

Claire glanced at her phone and said, “Mrs. Williams is going to put me in detention if I am late for her class again, I got to go.” She gave Dean and Cas a kiss on each of their checks and shouted over her shoulder, “See you Uncle Sam,” as she ran toward the garage. 

Cas watched her run until she was out of sight and then said, “I think I found her the perfect graduation gift.”

Sam smiled and said, “Lucky! I have been searching everywhere, but I have no idea what to get her. How about you?” He looked at Dean expectantly.

Before Dean could make up an answer, Cas said, “You know he is going to wait until the last minute, come up with something amazing, and be the favorite Dad for the day.”  
Dean tried to smile and play along, but he stopped at Cas’ words. The favorite Dad. Dad. Dad to Claire? He thought back to when Cas decided to go look for Claire, how he decided to take responsibility for her. He wondered how much earlier that would have happened if he and Cas were together. 

Sam said, “Bobby and Jody are still planning on coming down. Jody said they would try to bring Alex too, she seems to be adjusting much better now.” 

Dean’s mouth fell open when Sam mentioned Bobby and he reminded himself again, there were no leviathan in this world. There was no Dick to kill Bobby. Dean hadn't seen Bobby in far too long. “We should go see them.” 

“Bobby and Jody? We saw them a couple weeks ago at the sheriff retreat. Don’t we have some things around here to take care of?”

“What is more important than seeing the man who practically raised us?”

Sam gave him a funny look back, but said, “I guess we could schedule a trip this weekend and take Claire up.”

Dean smiled and nodded, “Yeah, that sounds great.” The thought of staying in the Bunker all day filled Dean with dread, he didn’t know how to act around Cas, things were so different around Sam, and he couldn't comprehend Claire; He needed to go on a hunt, as much for his sake as the mark’s. He wondered if getting out might pull the djinn out. He pulled out his tablet and pulled up the news looking for anything strange. He didn’t have to look long before he found the soldier drained of blood and bone marrow. Cas text Claire they were going hunting and not to do anything he wouldn’t do, and they were on the road within an hour.


	3. Whole Lotta Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unresolved feelings pop up for Dean while working a case and he finally decided to act on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is named after the song from Led Zeppelin.

Dean felt Cole on top of him. He saw the worm trying to escape from his mouth. It was hot, he was dehydrated, and there was a man pressing him down on the table. Cas had refused to leave Dean and Cole alone, and he grabbed Cole off him and back toward the fire. For a moment, all he could think was that it might not be so bad to have a man pressed against him like that again. And then he crushed the worm.

On the ride back to the bunker, Dean tried to ignore Sam googling the mark by focusing on Cas’ hand. It was resting comfortably on Dean’s thigh. Like it had always belonged there. When they made it to the garage and Cas got out of the impala, Dean’s leg felt cold and he suddenly wanted Cas’ hand back. 

The next morning, the mark urged him to look for another case. Before he knew it, he was walking into a priest confessional, trying to get a ghost angry enough to show itself. He thought of Cas, not knowing if he could ever commit to this relationship thrust upon him. But somewhere in his mind, he couldn’t get this feeling out of his mind. He thought of Cas pressed against him, cuddled up in bed. He thought of the kiss in the kitchen. He thought of the mark, turning him into something else. He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to be changed, and if he was going to, he wanted to do some things first. 

“There's things, there's people, feelings that I-I want to experience differently than I did before, or maybe even the first time...” He thought of Cas, the urge of needing him closer. 

The priest encouraged him to take it deeper. With “Gina.” He wanted, he needed to do this, and a dream world where he wouldn’t hurt the real Cas would be the best place. 

This time when they drove and Cas’ hand found his leg, Dean’s hand gripped the angel’s. Cas looked at him, smiled, and scooted a little closer on the front seat. Butterflies fluttered around Dean’s stomach, but he knew he couldn’t do anything with Sam in the car. He simply held his angel’s hand back to the bunker. 

It was nearly midnight before they got back to the bunker. Sam stumbled sleepily back to his room. Dean and Cas stopped at Claire’s room to tell her they made it back and to put her laptop away and go to sleep. 

When they made it to their room, Dean stopped and watched Cas strip down to his boxers and grab a worn AC/DC shirt of Dean’s. He took a breath, if he was going to do this, now would be the time. As Cas laid back on the bed, legs hanging off the side, Dean walked to him, straddling his legs. This couldn’t be much different than being with a woman, could it? Cas was just an angel. In a male body. Who knew him very well and had done this with Dean many times. No pressure. 

Dean slowly pulled off his shirt. Cas, looked up at him, eyes widened, smile painted on his face. “I thought you were tired,” he told Dean.

“I am never too tired for you,” He said back. 

Cas sat up, pulling Dean onto the bed beside him. He scooted back and put his hands on Dean’s shoulders, rubbing soft circles. This was better than any sex he ever had. When Cas’ hands moved up his neck, he let a moan escape his lips. Cas laughed at him and turned him onto his stomach, straddling his butt. He leaned over Dean’s bare back and whispered, “Just wait for the happy ending.” 

Dean melted into Cas’ magical hands. He knew he must be using some angel mojo, because this was better than heaven without the dickhead angels. Cas grabbed some oil on the table beside the bed, and slicked it over Dean’s back. The scent of lavender filled the room as Cas massaged it into Dean’s back, slowly rubbing harder, focusing on Dean’s sore spots. He had never been a fan of lavender, but he smiled picturing Cas picking it out, smelling a dozen different oils, trying to find the perfect one for an occasion like this. 

“I know what you are doing,” Dean said. “The whole relaxing mood and lavender to get me tired, it won’t work on me.” There was no answer from Cas, only more oil. He worked at trying to stay alert and focused, but felt more relaxed by the minute, sinking deeper into the memory foam. He was nearly asleep when Cas rolled him over, tugging his pants off. He lifted his hips, trying to help but too tired to do anything. 

Cas shrugged the blanket around him, and curled around his back. “What happened to my happy ending?” Dean joked.

“Babe, you are almost asleep and you drove all day. Get some rest.” 

Dean smiled gratefully, but part of him worried if he let the moment pass him by now, if he would work up the courage to do this again. He turned around to face Cas, arms wrapping around his body and reaching up to run his hand through the hair at the base of his neck. He leaned forward, kissing Cas. He started slowly, hesitantly, but deepening the kiss when Cas made no move to pull away. But he knew wanted to be fully awake for this, so he pulled away and whispered a thank you before the darkness crowded his view and he crashed. 

 

 

Dean woke up after his four hours of sleep. He was the most relaxed he had ever been, and his morning wood showed it. It would still be hours before Sam or Claire woke up and the bunker was silent. He opened his eyes and turned to look at the angel laying next to him. Cas didn’t need sleep and apparently he felt content to simply hold Dean and watch over him through the night. He could make out Cas’ smile through his long lashed, and opened his eyes to take the sight of him in. He asked in a deep, raspy voice, “How about that happy ending now, Angel?”

Cas licked his lips and grinned. He turned toward Dean, leaning over him and kissed him, hard and deep. Dean’s hands reached around the back of his neck and curled into his hair. Cas’ lips found his ear and gave it a playful nip before moving down his chiseled jaw. His fingers pulled tighter on his hair when Cas sucked on his neck, swelling a hickey that would be visible for days. 

He let out a sinful moan when Cas found a nipple, sucking one and his hand massaging the other. After a minute, he continued his way down Dean’s body, licking and sucking and kissing his way to his belly button. His arms ran up and down Dean’s sides until he finally palmed him through the tented boxers. Dean pulled on Cas’ hair at the pressure. How had he possibly held out this long without this in his life. 

When Cas’ tongue slipped out of Dean’s belly button, it moved downward, slipping along his defined “v” shaped muscles. Cas’ hands reached around and pulled Dean’s boxers off, ripping them from his body with angel strength. Dean flushed with heat at the show before him, and then Cas looked up to him, blue eyes flashing with intensity and and longing, as if waiting for permission. He could only nod before Cas’ lips covered his tip. 

He slowly lowered himself, licking the underside of Dean’s head. His tongue followed one particularly large vein down, and followed a new one on his way back up. He swirled his tongue around Dean’s head before swallowing him down. His hands clenched around Dean’s thighs. When Cas went down the next time, a finger swirled around his rim and dipped inside. One of Dean’s hands left Cas’ hair to grab the sheet under him, fisting it, holding on for dear life. The finger inside reached for his prostate, knowing exactly where to go. Cas matched his strokes to his tongue swirls until Dean could feel his prostate grow hard.

Pleasure swept through Dean, and he cursed Cas’ name, and heaven, hell and purgatory with it. Eventually Cas slowed, pulling back. Dean nearly begged him not to stop, but the words died in his throat when he saw him pull a tube out of the nightstand. Cas kneeled between Dean’s legs ripped his own boxers off, dripping the lube on his own thick dick. Dean swallowed, and wondered how anything that thick was supposed to fit inside him. 

Cas leaned over Dean and kissed him again before lining himself up to Dean’s entrance. He pushed in slowly at first, but quickened past his prostate, filling him up. The pleasure far outweighed the pain and after a minute, Dean only felt elation. After all the self-loathing and shame for ever wanting this, it was finally happening and it was awesome. Cas hit the prostate on the way back out as well, and Dean let out an dirty, guttural growl. He picked up speed with every thrust, hot and heavy.

Dean felt ready to burst, but held it as long as he could. He looked at Cas with needy eyes and grabbed his hair tighter. Cas looked down and smiled at Dean coming undone beneath him. He felt Cas pulse inside him and knew the angel was struggling to hold off too. He waited until he couldn’t any longer and finally nodded up at Cas. As Dean shot thick white lines between them, Cas filled him from the inside. Cas leaned down and kissed him though the pleasure, gasping and shuddering into each other’s mouths. 

They laid in each other’s arms for what seemed like hours. Cas finally looked up at Dean and said, “We need to shower. Claire will be up soon and we have nothing set up to celebrate before we leave to Bobby’s.” 

“Cas, we are not celebrating having sex.”

Cas slapped his arm and said adoringly, “You are an idiot. Claire was happy enough to see Bobby on her birthday and move her party. I can’t disappoint her by not having something set up when she wakes up.”

Well, hell, Dean mused as he kissed Cas before he left. Nothing this good lasts forever. 

As Cas pulled on a robe and headed to the bathroom for a shower, he smiled at Dean and teased, “Are you coming or not?”


	4. Baby, Please Don't Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean visits Bobby and debates whether he should keep fighting or give in to the djinn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the AC/DC song.

They made it to Sioux Falls halfway through the afternoon and met Jody at the door. The smell of Bobby’s cooking wafted through the room and Dean couldn’t help but smile. He knew this was a dream, he knew this wasn’t real, but he loved this place, he had practically grew up here. He forgot how much he missed it. 

They had barely made it through the front door when Bobby’s gruff voice met them, and Dean ran to the kitchen. Bobby stood there wearing his “kiss the cook” apron stirring a huge pot of chili. He raced to the man and gave him a huge hug, tears leaking out of his eyes. 

“Boy, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Dean just smiled and hugged him again. 

Sam laughed, “Dean, it hasn’t been that long, we saw him in Hibbing.”

He just smiled, grabbing a beer and setting at the table to watch everyone. Bobby and Jody looked happy, having someone to share their life with. They seemed to completely understand each other. He was almost surprised that Bobby had agreed to take Alex in, but he remembered all the time he had spent acting like a dad to him and Sam and knew the old man would be a great dad for Alex.

Sam, Cas, and Claire fit so easily in this life, like everything else. Even though he still had the Mark, there was so much less suffering in this life. He was sure that Kevin and Charlie were here too, living normal lives away from anything supernatural. He thought back to the real world and all the weight everyone carried around. He was the reason Kevin was dead, the reason Charlie was on the run looking for the Book of the Damned, the reason everyone’s lives were so terrible. 

He wondered what was happening to him in the real world. If the Mark never let him die, would he stay in the dream forever? Would it mean he wouldn’t kill anyone in the real world? Maybe if he didn’t look for the djinn in his dream, and just gave in, he could live here forever and never hurt anyone in the real world. 

He snapped back to reality with a slap to his shoulder. “You alright there?” Sam asked him. He nodded, but looked across the room to Cas who looked worried. 

They ate dinner and watched a Chuck Norris movie before heading upstairs to bed. He missed life being so simple. 

When they climbed into bed, Cas held Dean in his arms. “Are you okay?” Cas crooned into his ear. 

“Do you ever wish you could start over? Just drop your old life and restart, make a life where everyone is happy.”

“Dean, everyone is happy. Not everything is perfect, but I would never want to leave this life.” 

He nodded to that, and tilted his head over to give him a goodnight kiss. “I would never want to leave you ether,” he whispered in Cas’ ear.

As he slept, he dreamed of Sam. Not the djinn Sam, the real one. He dreamed he found him in the warehouse in Chicago and was trying to wake him up. He was so much thinner than djinn Sam, and had lines already forming around his eyes. He looked so scared, so worried, so much older than he actually was. He dreamed Sam called Cas, and when he finally got there Sam begged him to find a way to wake him up. He woke up when Cas and Sam both had tears rolling down their cheeks. 

When he jolted awake, Cas sat up and asked what was wrong.

“This isn’t real. You aren’t real.”

Cas laughed, “I’m as real as you are Dean.” Cas kissed him, rubbed his arm and said, “This is real.”

“No, I’m in a dream. There was a djinn and you and Sam can’t wake me up, and they will never forgive themselves.”

“Dean, I am right here. Sam is next door. You are right here. Just like it should be.” 

Dean started raising his voice, “Cas, I can’t do this to you and Sam. I thought I could, but I can’t.” He heard movement in the hallway and knocking. “Cas, I have to get back to you guys.”

Bobby’s voice boomed from the hall, “You idjits could wake the dead with all that racket.”

Dean threw on a shirt and jeans and Cas bounced off the bed, “It is the middle of the night, where do you think you are going?”

“Chicago.”

“Dean, this is where you belong. You have to stay.”

“You can’t stop me.” He opened the door and saw Sam, Bobby, and Jody in the hall. 

Sam said, “Dean, it is better this way. You can’t hurt anyone in here.”

Bobby chimed in too, “Boy, if you wake up, the mark will control you. You will kill everyone.”

Cas spoke from behind him, “I will not watch you kill the world.”

“Stay here,” Sam implored. “This is the best life for you. You can have a good life here, and you will be here forever.” 

“Let go of everything you have kept hidden. Let go of your responsibilities. This is the best way to help people out there: by not being there. This takes care of the mark.”

Dean knew it was true. He could settle down in a world where he wasn’t responsible for Kevin’s death, where Charlie was safe, a world with Bobby and Cas, where everyone was happy. And the outside world would be rid of him. The mark wouldn’t let him die, he could be here forever. Sam and Cas could move on with their lives, leave him in a coma forever. The mark wouldn’t torture their lives. It would be the best thing for all of them. “It would take care of the mark. It would save the world. I could be happy.” He said it for himself, but everyone nodded their agreement. 

“Sammy, I would hurt you so bad.”

He answered, “You know it would be the best thing you could do for me.” Dean nodded and gave his brother a hug.

“I don’t know if I can leave you.”

“I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”

He nodded, taking himself out was the best thing he could do. He could rid the world of the mark. He could be happy, settle down, have a family. It was everything he ever wanted. He turned to Cas, “ Okay. I won’t look for the djinn I won’t kill myself. I’ll settle down. I’ll stay.”


	5. Don't Stop Believin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean settles down into an apple pie life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the Journey song.

Life settled down once Dean accepted his fate. He stopped looking for the djinn and just enjoyed what was in this world. Time moved differently. Moments seemed to last lifetimes, but in the blink of an eye, hours, days, weeks were skipped. It took a while get used to, skipping from a kiss from Cas to a talk with Sam to Claire’s first date. The mark stopped bothering him, he stopped feeling the urge to go on hunts. He no longer felt pressured to do anything, and life slowed down, letting the little moments turn into his whole world. 

When Claire told them she got asked out by the cute guy in trig, Dean smiled and told her they would have to meet him and test him before they could go anywhere together. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of Dean and Cas drinking out of a mug with silver designs on it and holy water inside. He smiled as they walked out the front door and waited forever for her to come back, cleaning his knife, then gun collection.

Sam would wake up every morning before Dean and start breakfast. They would stand in the kitchen cooking, eating, laughing, playing. Every joke between them was a lifetime of laughter. Every car ride together, heading to or from a hunt would be never ending. 

His nights lasted years cuddled in Cas’ embrace. Every kiss, every touch stretched into eternity. Each little touch through the day would last an eternity. He fell deeply for Cas in every infinite moment, soon he couldn’t imagine not having Cas around. Every wink, every joke, every look, every breath was forever. 

Claire was getting ready for prom, Sam stole the keys to the impala as a joke, Cas gave him a funny look, Claire called him between classes, Cas smiled and kissed him, Claire was on stage at graduation, Sam and him watched a movie together, Cas whispered “I love you,” in his ear, Claire was packing and leaving for college.

He laid across the bed, head in Cas’ lap watching another episode of Orange is the New Black. Without a word, Cas grabbed the remote, turning off Netflix. Dean turned to look up at him, questions forming in his eyes, but saw tears welling in Cas’ eyes. He jerked upright and grabbed him in his arms. “What is it Babe?”

“The bunker is so quiet without Claire here. I miss having someone around here to make some noise.”

“What, Sammy isn’t enough for you?” He joked. 

Cas sighed and looked up at Dean, his puppy dog eye searching Dean’s face. “I want a kid. A baby. We barely caught the end of Claire growing up. I want a little one.”

Dean froze, a lump rising in his throat. Claire had nearly been 18 when he was thrown into this world, a baby was an entirely different story. She was easy. A baby would be so much work. He had finally accepted himself as Claire’s dad, but she was practically a grown-up. Her life was formed, there wasn’t a whole lot he could fuck up from here. But a baby, forming another human’s entire life, could he do that? Cas would be no problem, he seemed to have a natural instinct for fatherhood and he was an amazing father to Claire. But him? 

He had thought about being a Dad before, but was always too worried about ending up like his Dad. He had always wanted to have kids someday, when he was out of the life. He had finally accepted that would never happen when he met Emma, and he almost thought he could make it work until she was killed. He had given up on the idea of ever having kids. Their lives were too fucked up. 

“Cas, you know I love Claire, but why on Earth would you want another kid?”

Cas let out a sigh and a tear dropped from his eye. “I knew you would think this is a bad idea.” He leaned up against Dean, dropping his head onto Dean’s shoulder. “I have been alive for millions of years. I have watched humanity form, and I never tire of watching that miracle. And I love watching you. And I loved watching Claire learn and grow. And I really want a baby with you. I want to see you playing football or teaching them how to dance. You are such an amazing dad. I see how you act around little kids on cases and you are so gentle and understanding and I just really want to have a baby with you. We wouldn’t have to raise it hunting, we barely take any cases now anyway. We can retire, let other people take care of the monsters. We can start a family.” 

Dean wanted to protest that them and Claire and Sam were a family, but he knew exactly what Cas meant. Claire was their daughter, but they had missed so much of her life. He knew what Cas meant when he said he wanted a baby. But the doubts still nagged at him. “What happens when the next big thing happens and we can’t turn away from it. Or if the mark changes me again?”

“Then we will deal with it. Not much can stop an angel and the mark, we will take care of anything that comes our way.” 

Dean sighed, knowing he couldn’t win this one. He wanted this too badly. And in the end, this was all just a dream anyway. He smiled at Cas and nodded, “Let’s do this.”

He picked up their baby, slowly, gingerly. This tiny, fragile life took his breath away, he was everything. He smiled up at Cas, tears blurring his vision. Cas sat across from him, stroking the soft hair on their baby’s head. “We need to name him,” Dean whispered. 

“Sam?”

“How about Samuel Robert? For Sam and Bobby?”

He loved watching Sam play with little Sammy. He would make funny faces and play peek-a-boo. And Claire was such an amazing big sister, bringing stuffed animals for little Sammy whenever she came home from school, and holding him and just staring into his perfect little face while their dads took a nap.

Before they knew it, he was babbling and race was on to see if he would say Dada or Papa first. Cas won with Papa. He started crawling and they very quickly worked on baby proofing the bunker. By the time he took his first steps, almost all the guns and knives had been stored away. They were really and truly retired. Sam even went back to school to finish his degree. He only had a year left anyway. Dean had never been prouder of his brother then when he finally graduated. 

Soon Cas was begging for another and Dean didn’t even pretend to put up a fight. Mary fit into their lives as easily as Sammy had. Dean would steal her away from every chance he got, just staring unto her perfect eyes, stroking her little fingers or toes. They were both so perfect. Sammy had dark hair, nearly as black as Cas’ and green eyes that peered out from his long eyelashes. They were usually covered by his flop of long shaggy hair. He refused to let them cut it like his uncle, but it was unruly as his Papa’s. He was stubborn and carefree and so sweet. Mary had strawberry blond hair and blue eyes that made the freckles splattered across her face pop. Her first word was no and she was a firecracker. She was free-spirited and a wild-child and she could tell jokes that made them all laugh for days. They spent every day watching the kids playing and laughing and nearly every night huddled up on the couch watching movies. Claire came back every summer to stay with them and they were really a family, big and happy. 

When Sammy started school, Dean and Cas sat around the corner the entire day, listening for anything that could hurt their baby. They did the same thing with Mary too, a few years later. But they were fine, and slowly they took a step back and watched their babies grow. Mary wore AC/DC shirts to school and listened to classic rock in her room. Dean was so proud of her. Sammy preferred indie rock, and begged Dean to teach him to play guitar. Dean taught them everything he knew about cars, and they both learned how to drive in Baby. They taught them to shoot guns, and Bobby took them deer hunting every fall. It was as close to hunting as Dean would let them get. They weren’t ignorant of their dads’ and uncle’s past, but Dean refused to let them get into the life. 

Claire spent a year after college traveling around Europe before med-school. She moved a few hours away and started an internship at the hospital in Lawrence. She married a doctor there, and they settled into a busy life. They got together at least once a month for a big family dinner. 

Sammy followed in his uncle’s footsteps and went to school at Stanford. They cried the day he left for California. Dean laughed at him when Sammy called and told Dean to tell Cas to stop showing up in his room to check on him. He totally ruined the mood with his new girlfriend. 

Mary ended up skipping college and took over Bobby’s garage when he passed away. Once in awhile, a hunter showed up looking for some help with a hunt and she would call her dads and ask for advice. They would tell her everything they knew about what the hunter was looking for, but would tell her not to get involved in the hunt. Dean thought she listened, hoped she did, but knew she could handle it if she didn’t. Occasionally she would bring a new boyfriend or girlfriend home, but they figured she would never settle down. 

The mark kept Dean going, the aches and pains that racked Sam never affected Dean. Cas dutifully healed Sam when the pains annoyed him, but years of hunting had took a toll on his body. He fought a long time against the troubles of his mind and body, but finally he met his match. 

The day Sam died, for good this time, Dean lost his mind. It had been so long since he thought of the djinn, of this world that was created for him, but he remembered now. He loved Cas, he loved the kids, but this wasn’t real. He could make it back to Sam, and he would see Cas again. 

He finally broke, and he took the gun from the bedside, put it against his temple and pulled the trigger. 

 

He woke up in his room, laying on the bed. He opened his eyes, and turned his head to look around the room. He stood, testing his legs. He didn’t know how long he had been in a coma, but the mark had kept his body strong and ready. He walked to the door and down the hallway. He found Sam and Cas in the kitchen, and the memory flooded back of the first time he saw them in the dream. 

The profound loss of that life cascaded over him, knocking him to the ground. At the noise, the men turned and ran to Dean catching him in their arms. As the tears flooded his eyes, he hugged his brother and his angel and cried in their arms.


	6. Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas tells the story from his point of view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is named after the song from Jefferson Starship.  
> This chapter is different, it is from Cas' point of view. Hope you enjoy it!

Dean walked down the stairs of the old barn. His legs bow legged out with each step, his face determined. His hand gripped the blade with a fury. I didn’t know if he would ever let go.

And then he handed it to me. I took it as a sign of trust. He trusted me to hide it, to keep it from him. He trusted me above the demon he had spent so much time with. It was my duty to protect this blade from him.

When I got back to the bunker, I went to check on him. Even though it had been years since I received the order from heaven, I still regarded myself as his protector, and his friend. He needed sleep, it radiated from him. His eyes were tired, from fighting the blade, the mark, Cain. I wished I could follow him to his room, push him into deep sleep that would last days, stand guard over him. But his stolen grace was fading and Sam was worried, and he needed to talk too.

Sam was worried about him. Just as much as I was. I kept resisting the urge to check on him, to make sure he was asleep. Sam needed me too. 

Finally, Sam’s weariness was too much for him, and he went to bed too. Finally I crept to Dean’s room and slipped inside. I saw the blades and guns adorning the walls, and saw the picture underneath his lamp, I saw the chair facing the bed. He would never admit that he left this chair for me, he knew I would watch over him as he slept.

What I didn’t see was Dean.

I checked the kitchen, maybe he was hungry. I checked the library, maybe he was on his computer. I checked the gun range, the dungeons, the stairwells. I checked the garage. The impala was missing. 

I ran to Sam, waking him up. I knew he needed sleep, but nothing was more important than finding Dean. He tried tracking the GPS on Dean’s phone and his car, but both had been turned off. And he wouldn’t answer my calls or my texts. I sat hopeless, powerless, unable to do anything with the little grace I had left. I was useless.

We searched the town, the bars and restaurants sat dark and empty, sleeping after a long day. A foggy silence held down the town tucked under a blanket to sleep. Sam needed sleep too.

I finally convinced him to go back to the bunker. I promised him I would keep searching, and I looked everywhere. I called every hunter they knew, I shouted to God until my voice was hoarse, I even tried Crowley. There were no answers.

I was useless.

Then Sam’s phone rang. I heard him answer in a deep, groggy voice that sounded like he had finally feel asleep and been dragged from the depths of it. Dean was in Chicago. We got in my car. “The Pimpmobile” Dean called it.

Sam said he must have gone after the monster families they had found last year. The other hunters they had called in to take over for them were the ones that called. Dean had taken over their cases and he wasn’t the same.

We searched all through Chicago and we split up with the other hunters. Sam’s group took the south and east side, My group took the north and west. After a full day of searching, all we found were mass killings. He took out a vampire nest and a ghoul pack on opposite sides of the city. Another day and Dean brought down some witches.

He was escalating quickly, he needed to be stopped.

On the third day, Sam found him,

“Cas, I need you. Dean won’t wake up. We are in a warehouse on the south side... Cas, come quick.”

I raced to the warehouse to find a djinn laying dead on the floor. He was covered in delicate blue tattoos, twisting and bending patterns around it’s arms and neck. He was a terrible kind of beautiful, able to cause so much pain and wonder.

My eyes searched for Dean and found him cradled in Sam’s arms. He looked peacefully asleep, but I had watched over him enough through his dreams to know this was not a natural slumber. His eyes stayed motionless beneath his long lashes, his mouth betrayed no hint of the smile that naturally perched on his lips. Aside from his deep breaths, he was gone to world.

“Cas, the antidote isn’t working. I don’t know what to do.”

I walked to them and cupped Dean’s face in my hand. He was cold to the touch. “Sam, I don’t have enough grace left to help. I don’t know what to do.”

“We have some dream root back at the bunker, let’s get him back there and I can get into his dream. It worked with Charlie, it will work this time too.

The ride back to the bunker was quite. Dean slept in the backseat, stretched out and dead to the world. Sam clamped the wheel with ferocity, knuckles showing white through his fists. His jaw worked, clamping tight and twitching his lips. I didn’t try to talk.

We got Dean to his room and laid on his bed. Sam ran for the dream root, and I knocked him out after he drank. He woke up within half an hour and had no results. He couldn’t connect to Dean’s dream. I strained what fleeting grace I had left to inside of his head, but I could not breach his dream either.

That was when we really began to worry. We looked day and night for anything that could help us. We tried spells, we tried Crowley, we tried everything, but nothing could reach him. The only consultation we found was that the poison could not kill him, the mark would not let it. As the days turned to weeks, I wondered if there was any answer, any way to get him back. When I was not researching, I watched over Dean, setting vigil by his side, often reflecting on our days together. Even after everything we had been through, and everything he had done, I still considered myself his protector. He was my charge since the day I laid my hand on him in hell. I would do anything for this man.

Sam would bring me food or keep me company as we sat. as the research faded, we spent hours setting beside Dean, telling stories. Sam laughed when I told him about the woman Dean had tried to get me to sleep with. I repeated the words Dean had told me that night, “There are two things that I know for certain, one: Bert and Ernie are gay. Two: you are not going to die a virgin. Not on my watch.”

Sam’s eyes widened and little and a smile spread across his face. He stopped laughing. “Cas,” he seemed hesitant, “How do you feel about my brother?”

“A little frustrated he took the mark and we had to go save him.”

The smile turned to a smirk as one side twisted up.

“Look Cas, I have been around you both for a long time. I see how you look at each other. You look at Dean like he is the entire world and he looks at you like you are his personal savior. I just reminds me of how Jess and I used to look at each other.”

I felt some heat rush into my chest, and I knew what Sam was talking about, but wouldn’t let him in on that. As the blush crept up my cheeks, I whispered, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He rolled his eyes at that and nodded, “Sure you don’t,” he smiled, but he did not push me to talk about it. I was grateful for that. We laughed about all the things Dean irrationally loved, pie, classic rock, his baby. Finally, Sam left to look at a new section of books, but stopped at the doorway and said, “he loves you too Cas, even if he doesn’t know how to show it.”

I pretended I didn’t hear him.

He was right about how I felt about Dean. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew he was right. I didn’t have a lot of experience with these feelings. I suppose the feelings had been there with Meg. The beginning was just curiosity about the pizza man, but after months of her watching over me at the hospital, I had grown to enjoy her company. I wasn’t great with feelings, but that was the closest I had ever come to the level of commitment and trust I had in Dean. I didn’t need a physical contact to feel intimate with Dean. I could feel it by looking into his eyes. I could feel it over sharing a beer. I could feel it in every word, every action. 

I knew I loved Dean and I would do anything for him. 

A few days later, we were in the kitchen, cleaning from dinner. Sam had let me make pancakes for dinner, and had volunteered to do dishes. I helped him dry, and as we put plates away, I heard a movement in the hallway. I walked to the door, but saw nothing. I turned back to Sam, assuming I was mistaken. But a crash in the doorway turned me back around and I saw Dean barely able to stand, clutching the door for support. He looked into my eyes and the tears were flowing freely falling, running down his cheeks in streams. I grabbed him as he fell, clutching him to my chest. Sam ran to us and an arm wrapped around Dean’s back and he dissolved to tears in our arms. 

We just sat and held him.


End file.
